Obama: Maybe it’s time for Democrats to show more humility

posted at 8:55 pm on October 21, 2010 by Allahpundit

In an exclusive interview with National Journal, Obama took a conciliatory tone towards the same Republicans he’s been lambasting on the campaign trail. When asked about how he would respond if Congress extended the Bush tax cuts — something the president opposes for higher-income earners — he offered a broader answer.

“I think it’s premature to talk about vetoes because maybe I’m a congenital optimist, but I feel as if, post-election, regardless of how it plays out, the most important message that will be sent by the American people is, we want people in Washington to act like grown-ups, cooperate, and start trying to solve problems instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

The president sounded a cautionary note for his fellow Democrats: “And it is going to be important for Democrats to have a proper and appropriate sense of humility about what we can accomplish in the absence of Republican cooperation. I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

Is “more cooperation” really the lesson to be drawn from a voter tsunami towards the GOP? I thought it was “we’re willing to hand a landslide to a party we don’t much like or trust because we hate Obama’s platform that much.” In fact, when I first saw the headline for this story at National Journal, I thought Obama meant it was time for the left to show humility about its agenda in the wake of a harsh verdict from voters next month. Of course, that’s not what he’s saying; what he’s saying is that political reality next year will be such that they’ll have to be a little more oriented towards bipartisanship and compromise than they were before, which is already painfully obvious to everyone. Follow the link up top and you’ll see that it’s Mitch McConnell, not The One, who’s endorsing humility vis-a-vis the midterm results. He knows the public still doesn’t trust the GOP, so that trust will have to be earned. Obama’s still in the bubble, in other words. Luckily, McConnell is not.

Exit question: The One made another semi-surprising admission on the stump today when he accepted responsibility for a key mistake made over the past 21 months. Rather than tell you what that mistake was, let’s do multiple choice. Three possibilities: (a) pursuing a fabulously expensive health-care reform program when all anyone cared about was unemployment; (b) not taking five minutes to figure out whether “shovel-ready jobs” exist before spending several hundred billion dollars to fund them; (c) salesmanship and “messaging.” Can you guess?

Ha. What’s interesting here (and by interesting, I mean horrifying) is that Obama is still sticking with the premise that people are angry because they are so frustrated that not enough of Obama’s agenda has been accomplished. He will never admit that most Americans are opposed to all the things he would still like to inflict on America accomplish.

The president sounded a cautionary note for his fellow Democrats: “And it is going to be important for Democrats to have a proper and appropriate sense of humility about what we can accomplish in the absence of Republican cooperation.

“I think it’s premature to talk about vetoes because maybe I’m a congenital optimist, but I feel as if, post-election, regardless of how it plays out, the most important message that will be sent by the American people is, we want people in Washington to act like grown-ups, cooperate, and start trying to solve problems instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Well f********* how do I vote for “standing on the sidelines” then?

IMO nearly every single piece of legislation by either side is designed to limit choices, limit freedom, and cost money. Until someone somewhere starts trying for legislation that doesn’t match this list I’m looking for “standing on the sidelines”, or of you prefer the old term “gridlock”.

I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Translation: The only way I will recognize any “work” by the Republicans is if they CAVE on everything the American people voted them in to do or to STOP, and sign on to every stupid, left-wing idea I put forward. Otherwise, they are not cooperating, not being bipartisan, and certainly not working.

I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Pssst. Obama? Come closer so you can understand this message and put down that joint for a minute.

The American People don’t like you or your agenda. We are not standing on the sidelines drinking slurpees or latte’s. We are crawling through the broken glass and wreckage of 4 years of democrat majorities to the polls and after we defeat your fellow democrats, we will have you escorted from office in mid 2011.

Now, go back to smokin and dopin’ and partyin’ and agitatin’. It’s okay because we know that’s all you know how to do well.

I have to say, it slightly unnerves me when I realize I’ve begun to speak Obama… or at least understand what he’s saying when to everyone else it seems that he’s saying just the opposite.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

UnderstandingisPower on October 21, 2010 at 9:23 PM

Yes. And the important part is to listen to those who surround him as well. There are key words that they use. They are insulating themselves from future prosecution by using certain phrases that can be interpreted in different ways by different people. Brilliant. Evil, but brilliant.

“I think it’s premature to talk about vetoes because maybe I’m a congenital optimistLIAR, but I feel as if, post-election, regardless of how it plays out, the most important message that will be sent by the American people is, we want people in Washington to act like grown-ups, cooperateGO TO TRIAL, TO PRISON, and , and start trying to solve problemsIMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

Might help if democrats quit locking Republicans out of their back room deals on Capitol Hill.

You know, I think it is absolutely critical for those Republicans in the House to get to work. They should pass spending bill after spending bill, one at a time, authorizing a single Federal employee’s salary with each bill. They could even publicize the priority list…..with all the czars dead last.

That way, they’ll get around to authorizing those useless layabouts’ 2011 paychecks sometime around, say, 2035.

I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

Is Obutthead frickin serious?????

C’mon now! I recall Republicans having valid points, and ideas for hcr, and were rebuffed, and scoffed at, during a huge meeting. Some ideas were accepted, but none that would make a real difference. Only those ideas that wouldn’t interfere with their overall plan to take over health care were even considered.

I recall Republicans having input, and ideas only to be locked out, chastised, ridiculed, lied about, and scorned, for just sitting their sucking on their slurpees, while Dems did all the work.

BS!!! My God why don’t more people see this lying sack of shite for what he is???? Some humility. That’s the ultimate insult, and slap in the face if there ever were one.

same crap he said in his book and in his campaign stump speeches, this man doesn’t give a damn about “acting like a grown up”. He only cares about “cooperation” when he doesn’t have full control of the government as he did the past 2 years.

“I think it’s premature to talk about vetoes because maybe I’m a congenital LIAR, but I feel as if, post-election, regardless of how it plays out, the most important message that will be sent by the American people is, we want people in Washington to act like grown-ups, GO TO TRIAL, TO PRISON, and , and start IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

“…we want people in Washington to act like grown-ups, cooperate, and start trying to solve problems instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

And then he goes right on to try to SCORE POLITICAL POINTS!

“…what we can accomplish in the absence of Republican cooperation. I think it’s going to be important for Republicans to recognize that the American people aren’t simply looking for them to stand on the sidelines, they’re going to have to roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

As for standing on the sidelines? Hey, jackass, here’s what you said: “I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking.” Just shut up and sign the bill.

More broadly, he used his West Coast swing to drive home his challenge to voters to decide, in his words, if they want to stick with progress or return to failure on Election Day.

Errrrrrr ahhhh well, lets see? Humm?

Return to failure? Last time the Rupbubs had both houses we had 4.6% unemployment. If we go back to 1995 and avg unemployment 1995 thru 2006, we get 5.8% unemployment. Is that the failure he speaks of? Or is it the Obama stim plan?

Unemployment will not go above 8%! Fail
3 million new jobs, 80% in the private sector! Fail
Shovel ready jobs to repair the infrastructure of the country! Fail

What else? Oh ya Tax cuts (actually a deferment) of $0.192 per hour or $1.56 per day (before taxes) provided you still have a job! Not only that but Obama’s policy also ensured ALL income taxes were eliminated for 3 million more Americans!

He is not referring to himself or Democrats. He believe he does no wrong and neither do Democrats.
What he means is:we want peopleREPUBLICANS in Washington to act like grown-ups, cooperate, and start trying to solve problems instead of scoring political points,” Obama said.

Obama, always campaigning never leading, is the President of the Democrats of the United States, not the people of the United States.

Reminds me of one of Willie’s first public appearances after the ’94 debacle. He actually said that the message the voters had sent was that they were angry that his agenda was not being enacted fast enough, and that R’s should follow the dictate of the people and push his ideas forward on a faster basis. Delusional. Apparently it runs in the party.

Would someone explain why when the Dems got their “mandate” from the voters it meant they were entitled to shove whatever they wanted down our throats but if the GOP gets a “mandate” it means we have to cooperate and work with the other side like adults?